The Eyepatch Stories
by Ikonopeiston
Summary: This is a collaboration between The RyRy and me. Even spiders get caught in their webs sometimes. Heh! In Chapter Four, the plot thickens like overcooked oatmeal.
1. Chapter 1

The characters and settings used here are the sole property of Square-Enix. The RyRy and I have borrowed them to have a little fun. We will return them unharmed in every way when we have had our satisfaction from them. Thank you, Squeenix.

A/N - As most of you reading this must know, FFN does not have an accommodation for joint writers. This chaptered work is the product of The RyRy and Iconopeiston. The RyRy suggested I post here under my name and I, always the very model of modesty, agreed. However, it must be clearly understood that all under this title is the result of a collaborative effort. We blended our voices to make what we hope is a harmonious sound.

**The Eyepatch Stories**

Nooj picked up the small thick book and weighed it thoughtfully in his hand. Its very existence had quite slipped his mind until it had turned up during his packing for the move to Youth League headquarters. Just holding it brought back vivid memories of the days when life had been so much simpler and he had had the leisure to occupy his thoughts with puzzling out a minor mystery.

He was not one to pry into the affairs of others, accepting confidences if they were forced upon him but never eliciting them. As he guarded his own privacy, he respected that of other people. So he had set this little book aside until he had been led to seek it out again when he heard an interview with Gippal on the public sphere-cast. He sighed. Yet another story from the inventive Al Bhed.

Still the question of what lay behind Gippal's eye-patch intrigued him. How did such a young man come to lose so well protected a part of himself as his eye? Nooj smiled inadvertently as he remembered why and how he had filled this shabby book with speculation and commentary. It had been a diversion during those days at Mushroom Rock Road and, later, in the bleakness of the desert.

Nooj rifled the stained pages as the scenes out of the past flashed before him - bright and perfect as though preserved in amber.

-x-

Gippal and Baralai were sitting by the pool where the squad bathed in these early days of training. Gippal was washing his clothes of mud from the rains of the previous day – all except his eyepatch, which he took great pains to clean without taking off.

Baralai was cleaning some of the supplies that had been splattered with mud. "Gippal," he said, his voice rising in a question, "What… happened to your eye?"

Gippal laughed, looking down and away. Perhaps he was pretending to be shy. "It's kind of embarrassing," he said simply.

"It's okay," Baralai said. "I won't tell."

Gippal looked over. "Promise?"

Baralai nodded.

"Alright." Gippal looked around, checking to see if Nooj and Paine were a safe distance away. "I was a little kid, and Sin attacked the island near where I lived with my family. You know how the attacks go… everyone dies except a few who barely survive. I was the barely survived one. But… the day after, when I found out that my whole family was dead, I was so upset that I ran from the house. I think I intended to go out and find my parents." He laughed.

Baralai put his hand on Gippal's shoulder. "Sin didn't take your eye?" he asked.

Gippal shook his head. "No, I was fine. But when I ran away, I tripped over a rock and bashed my face on a ledge. I just about died in the desert before someone finally found me, all curled up and bleeding."

Baralai looked sympathetic. "That sounds awful," he said, lowering his voice. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

Gippal shrugged. "I got over it," he said simply. "But it still hurts sometimes."

"Can I do anything?" Baralai asked.

Gippal smiled. "I'll let you know."

-x-

Nooj, standing with Paine, screened by the edge of a rock formation, noticed Gippal and Baralai seated close together a little way off at the pool. At first he thought they were merely washing up then he noticed something else going on. He was intrigued by the secretive manner of the Al Bhed who drew closer to his friend and looked cautiously around as if to guard against being overheard. What could be so private in this communal setting? Caught by curiosity, Nooj placed his fingers against Paine's lips, stopping her conversation in mid-flight and gesturing with his head toward the two young men. Paine, quick as always, nodded and shaped a kiss against the hand silencing her. Nooj, still turned to listen to the words of Gippal, shifted his grip to caress her cheek as she leaned on his shoulder.

Gippal seemed to have no sense of how loudly he was speaking in spite of his concern for being heard and it appeared from the comments the others could hear all too clearly that Baralai had finally gotten around to posing the most obvious question in the world. What had happened to Gippal's eye; how had he come to lose it? Nooj and Paine shared a smile. The relationship between the lads must be getting serious if Baralai felt free to tread on that delicate ground. As Gippal continued, Paine started to say something. Nooj again pressed his hand to her lips and frowned. He could feel her outraged expressions straining to burst out and shook his head, enjoining silence.

"Can I do anything?" Baralai asked.

Gippal smiled. "I'll let you know.'

Paine was shaking with anger, trying to tear Nooj's hand away. He firmly grasped her shoulders in his other arm and led her out of earshot of the other two.

"Why that little liar!" she expostulated once they were a safe distance away. "That's not the story he told me!"

"You asked him about the eye?" Nooj raised a brow.

"Of course. I was curious. Why are the rest of you tip-toeing around it anyway?"

"It's a private thing. I know everybody understands how I lost my arm and leg but I don't like talking about it and hate it when somebody brings it up. A man should have his privacy about his own body."

"Well, he flaunts everything else, so I never thought of it as a privacy issue." Paine was sulking under the accusation of being insensitive. "Anyway, he's a liar for sure because he told me a completely different tale. I'll tell you about it one of these nights." She cast a flirtatious glance at her lover.

Nooj was brooding about what he had learned. It was possible that the version Gippal had told Baralai was the true one and he had told Paine a falsehood out of resentment at her prying. It was obvious that Gippal and the spoiled priest were beginning a relationship which would demand honesty from them both - at least that was the way Nooj understood intense relationships. Would the Al Bhed lie to his prospective partner? Why would he lie at all? There was considerably more than met the eye to this business.

Later, in his tent while the other three prepared a meal around the campfire, Nooj continued to think about the incident. He had instructed Paine to keep quiet until they knew more about the meaning of the conflicting stories. In the meantime, as leader of this group, he felt an obligation to keep the various members under some sort of control. He was reluctant to impose discipline for lying about a purely personal matter but thought he had better keep a record of what was being said, to whom and under what circumstance. Besides, he confessed to himself with a wry twist of his mouth which might almost have been a grin, he was damned curious about the truth of what had occasioned the eyepatch.

Another thought crossed his mind. This most recent happening cast an episode from about a week ago in a fresh light. It had happened shortly after the teams had been put together and had been called to their first inspection.

-x-

During the initial inspections, just after squad assignments, the officers lined all the recruits up and checked their belongings. Appearance was not an issue because there weren't enough standard-issue uniforms for everyone, but the men in charge still insisted on inspecting everyone. They stood in the dust along the road while a cart of supplies was being unloaded into the Crimson Squad camp.

An officer was walking through the ranks, eyeing all of the recruits up and down. He looked to be a priest, or at least a priestly type, for the way he was dressed. The golden symbols of Yevon glinted from their place on his militaresque jacket.

He stopped in front of Gippal, a member of Nooj's squad. "Soldier, what is that on your face?

"A smile," Gippal answered crisply.

"You will address me as 'sir', soldier."

Gippal paused before saying, "Yes, sir."

"What is that over your eye, soldier?"

"An eyepatch, sir."

"Doesn't cover both of those heathen eyes, does it?"

"No, sir."

"Why do you think you, an Al Bhed, are man enough to be in this squad?"

"Because I'm tougher than everyone else here, sir."

"Is that an insult to your fellow candidates?"

"Possibly, sir."

"Are you aware that you defile everyone else with your very presence?"

"Is that so, sir." It wasn't a question -- Gippal was grinning, even though he shouldn't have been.

The officer backhanded him. Gippal's head turned to the side, and he stayed in place for a moment.

"That eyepatch isn't a fashion accessory, is it? The military is not a place for frivolity."

Gippal turned his head to face the officer again. "I'm missing an eye."

After a pause, Gippal got backhanded again.

"Sir," he corrected after a heaving sigh.

"Did your barbaric people cut it out of you for bad behavior?"

"No, sir," Gippal said, staring the officer directly in the eye. "Your barbaric people cut it out of me for bad behavior." He paused. "Sir."

"And what behavior," the officer paused, looming over Gippal, "was that?"

Gippal did not flinch, but looked up at the other man. "Daring to be born with these eyes, sir."

The officer stared him down, and Gippal stared right back. After a long moment of tension, there was a shout from the camp nearby which grabbed everyone's attention. Apparently the supplies were unloaded and ready to be dispersed. Gippal had won the battle – for now.

-x-

Nooj watched with quiet amusement as Gippal responded to the impertinent questions of the Yevonite officer. Having no respect for the priest-ridden corps of commanders who were so ineptly handling this Crimson Squad endeavour, he found a certain amount of pleasure in seeing them made fools of. He had warned the younger man that he would face open prejudice as an Al Bhed in this army. However, Gippal seemed sharp and tough enough to withstand any amount of abuse.

The slaps from the back of the officer's hand, although hard, did not seem to much damage Gippal, not even making him take a step backward. He would face worse during the trials, Nooj was sure, and this would serve to prepare him for what was to come.

"Why the eyepatch, heathen?" upon hearing these words, Nooj sucked in his breath. This trespass on private territory was one he had not expected. He was curious about how his cadet had lost his eye but did not have the temerity to ask. Prying was not what a good officer did. He waited with dread for the scene to play itself out.

A shout alerting the officers and candidates to the duties awaiting them broke the stand-off. It seemed to Nooj that both were equally glad to turn to other business. He mulled over the answer Gippal had spat out: "Your barbaric people cut my eye out of me for being born with these eyes." It was a challenge, not a response and Nooj did not believe it for a moment. It was not meant to be the truth and no one would take it for such. It was not clever but it was typical of what Nooj was beginning to learn about this buttery haired youth.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

1


	2. Chapter 2

A/N - As most of you reading this must know, FFN does not have an accommodation for joint writers. This chaptered work is the product of The RyRy and Iconopeiston. The RyRy suggested I post here under my name and I, always the very model of modesty, agreed. However, it must be clearly understood that all under this title is the result of a collaborative effort. We blended our voices to make what we hope is a harmonious sound.

Any comments, reviews or critiques will be forwarded to The RyRy so that she can know how this is being received.

**Eyepatch - Episode Three**

Gippal and Paine were trading stories about themselves: where they came from, where they'd been, what caused them to try out for the Crimson Squad. Paine -- who had seemed so withdrawn before -- seemed more open now, as if Gippal's presence lightened the mood. Finally, she asked him the question that no one else seemed to want to ask.

"Gippal," Paine asked, "I hope it's not rude, but – how'd you lose your eye?"

Gippal sighed, looking down. Embarrassment? Shame? Aggravation? "You want the whole story?" he asked.

"There's a whole story?"

"Yeah," Gippal replied. "A long one, with gory bits."

"I like gory," Paine informed him.

Gippal grinned. "Gory it is, then." He had been sitting on the ground, but now he stood up and walked over to sit next to Paine on her log closer to the fire. Gippal pulled his feet in close to his body rather than spreading out as he usually did. "There was this girl—"

"I figured," Paine said, shaking her head.

"—no, she was a real beauty." Gippal made a gesture with his hands to imitate the curve of a woman's body. "Short, spiked hair, big lips, ears all studded with earrings, hands like – well. Like the best you've ever known." Gippal's eye closed and he leaned his head back, mimicking a coital expression of pleasure.

Paine seemed to be amused by him.

"She couldn't resist me – that shouldn't surprise you. I mean, I am amazing. Anyway, so she came to me the night before the first kidnapping gig – did I mention I kidnapped summoners?"

"So that explains why Baralai looks so petrified of you."

Gippal grinned. "I didn't kidnap him. Though I probably should have."

"Go on," Paine insisted.

"Anyway, so before we went off to kidnap our first summoner, she came to me – her name was Rinna – and she said, 'Oh Gippal'," his voice rose, becoming breathy, "'I just can't stand the thought of you endangering yourself. Let me see you off the proper way.' If you know what I mean." Gippal elbowed Paine with a loud laugh.

Paine snorted a quick laugh. "So, let me guess, things got rough and she clawed out your eye mid-orgasm?"

Gippal stared at her, looking surprised -- then he laughed. "No! Well, it could have gone that way." He grinned and looked lost in thought for a moment. "No, actually, the next thing I knew, I woke up in horrible pain, blood in my mouth and my nose, practically suffocating. Turns out she was one of the sub-faction that opposed the idea of Summoners being taken. They were kinda radical, like Yevonites but the opposite – thought Yevon was the evil of the whole world, and didn't want any of its people near Home."

"She drugged you!" Paine's expression was somewhere between horror and amusement.

"Maybe. Probably. She sliced out my eye with my own knife, and left me a note and an eyepatch. Not this one." Gippal gestured to the one he was wearing. "I made this one. But the note said, 'How you feel now from what I did to you is how the Al Bhed race feels at what you do to them.'"

Paine fell silent.

After a long, agonizing minute of listening to the sound of the fire crackling, Gippal spoke. "I went on the mission anyway. Fuck 'em."

"Let me get this straight," Paine said, leaning her elbows on her knees. "The day after you lost your eye as some sort of threat, you went on the same mission you were threatened against?"

"As weird as that sounds," Gippal said, putting his arm around Paine's shoulders. "Yeah. Because I believed in what I was doing, like a blind fool. Or a half-blind fool, anyway."

"And now you're here. And the summoner kidnapping is still going on, as far as I've heard." Paine lifted her eyebrow at him, but didn't shrug his arm away – yet.

"And then I saw that the summoners really believed in what they were doing too. And I realized that no one was right, and I'd lost my eye for something stupid." Gippal turned his body to face Paine. "So when I saw the recruitment posting for the Crimson Squad, I thought that being the first Al Bhed to get in the ranks of the Crusaders would be a pretty big deal, and might actually mean something."

There was another minute of silence as Paine looked at the fire instead of at Gippal. Finally, she turned to him and said, "I can't decide if you're telling me the truth and you really have some sort of deep, inspiring story behind you, or if you're telling me a story in order to get in my pants."

Gippal just grinned and, begrudgingly, took his arm off of Paine's shoulders. "You'll just have to choose for yourself, _lidea_," he said, patting her on the head.

-x-

"That's the story he told me," Paine concluded but Nooj had stopped listening.

"So he thinks he can have you, does he? That self-centered, pernicious little shrimp who doesn't even reach up to my arm-pits! He needs to be taught some manners and I..."

Paine rolled over and swatted Nooj on his bare buttocks. "You idiot! You're missing the point. He told me a completely different story and we both heard him tell still another to that officer during inspection. He's a liar!"

"And a lecher. One sex isn't enough for him; he has to try to make a clean sweep of every human in sight and I wouldn't be surprised to find him assaulting a chocobo. If I see him put a hand on you, I'll rip out his other eye, his tongue and his liver - not to mention more private parts. All right, all right, I see what you mean. He's telling more stories than a professional tale-spinner. I wonder what his truth is."

"Why would he tell me such a bloody yarn?"

"You did challenge him, you know. Face the truth, he warned you it was gory and you said - and I quote - "I like gory". No, love, you have no grounds for complaint about that part." He poked her chin with his machina forefinger. "However, you do have the right to question why he tailored his story for you to show off his so-called erotic exploits. Bah! I'm coming to the conclusion that he didn't lose an eye at all and just wears that patch to try to look like a romantic hero out of popular entertainment. He's the type who would do that."

Paine smothered a laugh and ran an arpeggio on his ribs. "You're letting your jealousy interfere with your reasoning, sweet Warrior. We're supposed to be figuring out why he's telling all these different versions of his biography. So far, the only thing I'm sure of is that he's an Al Bhed. The left over eye and the hair make that pretty obvious. Plus the smell of oil and grease he always leaves in his wake." She dropped a kiss on his shoulder.

"You're right again. Woman, you have a knack for keeping us on track. When I heard him deal with the officer at inspection, I was developing a respect for him in spite of his lack of discipline. But I cannot respect a liar. In my experience, liars are lacking in honour and decency. Now, I don't think I can rely on him in battle or know what he is likely to do when I give him an order. Wonder if I can transfer him out of this group?"

"If you do, Baralai will have to go too and you'll be left with just me. Think about it - you might get somebody worse, somebody who can't fight at all. Better stick with the devil you know."

"Again, you make sense. I must be besotted with you if you're having to pull on my reins so hard to keep me thinking straight." He turned to press her down into the softness of the bedding.

"Wait! Don't you think we should analyze Gippal some more?"

"To hell with Gippal!" And Nooj did not wait.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

1


	3. Chapter 3

A/N - As most of you reading this must know, FFN does not have an accommodation for joint writers. This chaptered work is the product of The RyRy and Iconopeiston. The RyRy suggested I post here under my name and I, always the very model of modesty, agreed. However, it must be clearly understood that all under this title is the result of a collaborative effort. We blended our voices to make what we hope is a harmonious sound.

Any comments, reviews or critiques will be forwarded to The RyRy so that she can know how this is being received.

**Eyepatch Four**

The four were disembarking from the ship on the desert island, ready for their first assignment. Baralai walked close to Nooj, seeming to watch him for signs of waning seasickness. Paine was struggling to find the best way to carry her recorder's pack, and Gippal was looking around at their surroundings. He had a suspicious expression on his face.

Suddenly, one of the other recruits, an angry looking man about Nooj's age, grabbed Gippal by the shoulder. "You'll die fast out here," he said to Gippal, staring him down.

Gippal made a noise of disgust. "You'll die faster." He seemed a bit distracted by the surroundings.

"What, you think you can shoot anything missing an eye?"

Gippal stopped and turned. "Who says I'm missing an eye?"

The man pointed to Gippal's eyepatch. "You stupid or something?"

"Maybe," Gippal said, shrugging casually, "or maybe I have to wear this to even out the playing field."

The challenger laughed, a hacking sound that grated on listening ears. "You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with only one eye."

"Won't need to," Gippal replied. "Just the fiends."

Several feet away, Nooj was sitting in the sand, with Paine and Baralai around him. The unnamed recruit stared at Nooj for a moment and laughed. "Your squad member barely survived the ride. Do you really think—"

Gippal's gun was out of its holster and against the other recruit's chest before he could finish his sentence. "Can't miss from this distance," he warned. "Now go away."

The recruit took a moment to spit on the sand in front of Gippal before turning and walking back to the rest of the crowd.

Paine looked up. "What was that all about?"

Gippal turned, putting his gun back in its holster. "Some guy being a dick. How's Noojster?"

The tall man pushed himself to his feet, leaning more heavily than usual upon his cane. "I'm better. Seasickness is both exhausting and humiliating. It would have been more comfortable to train on the continent and avoid this voyage and I confess I'm not looking forward to the journey back. But enough about my weaknesses. Did I observe you defending the honour of the team just now?"

Baralai and Paine exchanged a questioning glance. How much had Nooj heard? As soon as they had time, Paine thought they must get together and talk about what Gippal had told the other cadet. Was he boasting just to keep the attention off the ailing Nooj or what? She knew that Gippal had told her a completely different story about losing his eye than he had confided in Baralai. Just what was the Al Bhed up to anyway?

Shrugging, Gippal replied, "Just putting him in his place. He thought he had some right to talk about my ability."

"And Nooj's seasickness," Baralai added, glancing back at Paine.

Gippal turned and folded his arms. "Yeah, well, some people need a gun to the lungs to know when to shut up."

Nooj watched Gippal for a moment, then nodded. "Let's set up camp here near the grasses. The location is both above the tide and still out of the desert."

"I have a feeling we'll get very tired of the desert," Baralai murmured so only Paine could hear.

-x-  When they had finished making camp near the beach that evening, Paine approached Nooj as he washed up for the meal Gippal was concocting.

"Well. What do you think now? That's the third story we've heard from that liar." She folded her arms and glared.

"Not now, Paine." He was brusque and commanding. "I'm too tired to deal with your doubts about the boy right now. It may be that he's found a way to keep prying minds out of his business. We don't have to know what happened to his eye. I'll find our soon enough if he's trustworthy and a good soldier. He's certainly cocky enough. And quick enough with his weapon."

"You're as curious as the rest of us and you know it," she teased with a curled lip.

"I do not permit myself to be curious about the private lives of my troops. It is not befitting an officer."

"You and your rules. You're curious about my life."

"You're more than my ..." He stumbled over just exactly what she was and changed the subject. "Come on, the food is ready and we need to rest. Go ahead and ask Gippal for the truth if you want to. You're your own woman and I don't rule you in your personal behavior."

"Like hell you don't. When I let you do it," she muttered too softly for him to hear, although she did catch a cynical smile twisting his lips. They wandered out to the waiting supper.

Gippal was finishing his meal preparations, muttering to himself in Al Bhed -- a fast string of consonants with the occasional vowel -- as he peeled the charred skin and seaweed from the fellant. Occasionally he would burn his fingers, pulling them back protectively from the steaming flesh of the rodent. With a small curved knife, he cut the meat into four pieces. "Afraid we're eating with our hands tonight," he teased as Nooj and Paine approached.

Baralai was dragging a sizable piece of driftwood, big enough for two people to sit on, near the fire. He dropped it next to a large rock -- another improvised seat, but someone would be sitting in the sand.

Having accomplished this, Baralai sat on the edge of his log next to where Gippal was crouched in the sand. "Don't look so pale, Lai," Gippal said as he offered Baralai a chunk of the meat. "You'll probably eat worse things out in the desert."

Baralai swallowed and took the meat gingerly, holding it with two fingers and examining it.

Nooj looked at the steaming food but did not touch it. "What is this meat?"

"Fellant," Paine responded. "It's a sort of large rat."

"Well, I've eaten stranger but I don't feel very hungry after that voyage. I still have a touch of nausea. Divide my share among the rest of you." Nooj carefully turned away from the feast. "Do you plan to grill the chef?" he asked softly.

"If that's a joke, it's not your main talent. I don't know; I have to check with Baralai." Paine took a large greasy bite of the hind leg of the entree.

Gippal's noisy eating apparently disturbed Baralai, and he slid down to the other end of log near where Nooj and Paine were. After watching Paine take a bite, he seemed to decide that he could be brave and try it too.

After chewing carefully, he announced, "Hey, this isn't bad."

Gippal either didn't hear him or didn't care enough to respond.

In spite of the misgivings about the food, the bones of the animal were sucked clean by the time they were finished. They spent most of the meal in silence, listening to the waves and the shouts of the other recruits from far down the beach. Afterwards, Paine and Baralai took the clean up duty, scrubbing the utensils with a combination of sand and sea water. As they worked, Paine thought how to begin her investigation. Finally she broke the silence.

"Baralai, did you hear what Gippal said to that cadet?"

"Yes." The white haired boy was still, his lips firmly closed.

"I should tell you Nooj and I heard the story he told you about how he lost his eye. He told me a completely different one. I want to ask him what the truth is. Are you with me?"

Baralai paused, then looked up at Paine. "You... heard that? But what did he tell you?" He looked worried, seeming to forget all about the skewer he was cleaning.

"That's not important right now. Do you think we should face him with all the different stories he's telling and demand to know what the truth is?" Paine snarled at the other, beginning to realize that no one would take the lead in questioning Gippal. "Don't you care that he's been lying to all of us?"

Baralai shrugged. "Who am I to say? I really think that if he were going to betray us, stab us in the back... he would have done it by now." He looked over his shoulder toward the fire where Gippal was tending to the coals. "And you saw him earlier, defending Nooj. Why...?"

Paine felt like stamping her feet in fury. "Why do all you men persist in missing the point? That's the real question. What I want to know is - will you join me in demanding that Gippal explain why he is telling each of us a different story about his eye? If he doesn't want to talk about it, all he had to do was say so. He doesn't have to lie."

Baralai cast one last look at Gippal, then turned back around. "No," he said to Paine. "I won't join you -- yet. I want to try something else first." His lips spread in a small, wicked smile.

"So what do you have in mind?" She was skeptical.

"You know as well as I do what kinds of secrets men give up when they're suffering from a sexual haze," Baralai said simply. "Gippal will fall easily, and there will be no need for confrontation."

She continued to look at him dubiously. "Well, OK, but you will report back to me?" With that she marched into the tent she shared with Nooj before she could say something she might regret.

She found Nooj scribbling in the little thick notebook he had begun filling with some sort of data. For some reason the very sight of him absorbed in his own affairs and not helping her with her mission aroused her usually controlled temper.

"Damn it! Why didn't you order Baralai to help me put Gippal through the wringer? He's got some dumb ideas about teasing out the truth in pillow talk. Is that all you men ever think about? Sex! Sex! Sex!" She threw down the pan she had not realized she was still carrying.

Nooj looked up at her, surprised by her vehemence. Then he slowly grinned. "Speaking of sex..." He nodded toward the waiting bedding and decisively closed the book, marking his place with his stylus.

Down on the beach, their privacy assured by the steady roar of the sea, the other two relished being alone after the enforced crowding of the ship. Baralai finished putting away their cleaned utensils before returning to sit next to Gippal at the fire. They sat in silence for a few moments as Gippal used a slightly charred stick to prod an outlying piece of driftwood back into the fire.

Baralai leaned his head against Gippal's. He wished at times like this that Gippal would grow another few inches so such sexual advances wouldn't be so awkward.

Gippal patted Baralai on the back of his head. "You want something," he pointed out.

Baralai shrugged slightly. "So do you."

"You think I'm lying to you," Gippal added.

Baralai wondered if everyone in the rest of the squad had some sort of extraordinary hearing – they all seemed to be able to overhear everything he talked about. "Are you?" he asked simply, not wanting to push too hard.

"Not to you," Gippal said.

Baralai allowed his body to relax – the real question would come later. "Then I am going to go clean off while I still can."

"You do that, city boy. Watch out, some filthy Al Bhed might join you," Gippal teased as Baralai stood up and went to the small coastal pool that their squad had appropriated. As Gippal heard the tell-tale sounds of splashing and scrubbing, he pulled out his small mechanical recording device and unfolded its keyboard onto his knees.

He smiled to himself as he typed a single sentence, "I wonder how long I can keep them guessing." He read it twice, then erased it.

Saturday, February 2, 2008

1


	4. Chapter 4

A/N - As most of you reading this must know, FFN does not have an accommodation for joint writers. This chaptered work is the product of The RyRy and Iconopeiston. The RyRy suggested I post here under my name and I, always the very model of modesty, agreed. However, it must be clearly understood that all under this title is the result of a collaborative effort. We blended our voices to make what we hope is a harmonious sound.

Any comments, reviews or critiques will be forwarded to The RyRy so that she can know how this is being received.

**EYEPATCH - CHAPTER FOUR**

The desert wasn't dark at all during the night. Baralai had assumed that he wouldn't be able to see in the pitch black, that he would stumble blindly across the sand, but he did not falter on even one step as he approached the tent. He could see clearly, the landscape illuminated by the light from the stars and the moons.

It was his tent, he realized -- Gippal had put up only Baralai's own tent. The squad had dispensed with the notion that no romantic involvement was happening, and the four tents had been condensed into two. Baralai had taken the first watch of the night, even though it was hardly needed here next to the shore, and the rest of the squad had put up the tents and gone to sleep. Baralai could hear Gippal snoring, even from the far side of the burned-down dinner fire.

After scratching three times on the other tent to rouse Paine for her watch, Baralai silently unlatched the flap of his own tent and ducked inside. The glow from the moons and the stars that had guided his steps across the sands filtered in through the canvas of the tent, illuminating Gippal's sleeping form.

He paused to watch his lover sleep, enjoying the scene for a few brief moments. Then, as quietly as he could, he pulled off his long robe and lay down next to Gippal.

The Al Bhed was, as usual, naked. Baralai found it odd that someone so obsessed with keeping secrets would expose himself so needlessly at night.

Then again, Baralai was thankful -- it made rousing Gippal that much easier. His hand traced down Gippal's naked torso, fingers grazing his thighs before stimulating him into full arousal. Gippal grunted as he woke, then turned over and grabbed Baralai roughly.

Soon enough, Baralai too was naked, and both were panting, lying on their backs next to each other and staring at the bars at the top of the tent. Baralai's knees hurt from the force with which Gippal had thrust into him and against the ground, but it was a small price to pay. He convinced his still-shaking knees to allow him to roll over so he could lay his head on Gippal's shoulder.

Gippal moaned sleepily and wrapped his arm around Baralai's back. "Lai, gimme a moment," he muttered.

Baralai smiled against Gippal's neck, his nose brushing the strap of the eyepatch. "Not ready yet," he murmured back in a whisper, making absolute certain his breath chased across Gippal's most sensitive spots. "You're not naked, you know," he said after a moment.

"Am too." Gippal sounded exhausted.

"Are not." Baralai nudged the strap with his nose. "Let me…"

Gippal's free hand flew up to secure the eyepatch faster than Baralai could move; consequently, Baralai recoiled quickly as Gippal's chin smacked him on the forehead.

"I guess that's a no, then," Baralai said, trying to laugh. He'd suffered worse injuries in the course of their previous entanglement than a knock to the forehead. "Why are you so sensitive?"

Gippal muttered something in what sounded like Al Bhed and glared at Baralai. Then he said, "It's ugly. Don't want you to see it."

"Come on," Baralai replied, settling back into position with his head on Gippal's shoulder. "You can trust me… you don't have to tell one of your stories."

"What stories?"

"The ones you tell everyone about your eye."

"I do not—"

"You do," Baralai said as firmly as he could manage, being naked and covered in sweat which was partially his own. "What you told me was different from what you told Paine, and what you said to that other recruit. Which one's true?"

Gippal shook his head, his chin grazing Baralai's forehead where he had just been hit a few moments before. "I don't know what you're talking about, Lai."

Baralai closed his eyes, willing away his instant reaction to become hostile. Finally, he managed to whisper, "Did you tell me the truth?"

"I thought you said I could trust you?" Gippal replied.

Baralai blinked his eyes open. That was an unexpected response. "You can, Gippal," he said.

"Then why don't you trust me?" Gippal turned so that Baralai made eye contact with him. "Seems like you need to learn what the word means."

Baralai couldn't think of anything to say in response.

-X-

Paine heard the scratches on the tent fabric, counted the number of repetitions and unhappily turned back the coverlet on her side of the sleeping bag. She was careful not to awaken Nooj even though it would probably have taken a tsunami to disturb his sleep after the long walk and the prolonged passionate interval they had shared. Only knowing that she had to stand guard had kept Paine in a state of half consciousness. She hated getting up from her warm nest into the relative chill of the air off the desert, however duty was duty.

She wondered if Baralai would have any success in his intended attempt to winkle the truth out of Gippal. In her not inconsiderable experience, the fable that men were susceptible to blandishments after satisfying sex was just that - a fable. She had never been one to overly rely on feminine wiles but the few times she had tried to cozen a confession or a secret out of a lover using her favors as a tool, she had failed badly. Men could be just as stubborn and irritating in a post-coital haze as at any other time. Oh well, Baralai would just have to learn; no amount of telling would take the place of going through the motions and not succeeding.

She paused to look at Nooj. He slept, as always, quietly and with the appearance of following some unspoken rule. His hands were folded over his chest as he lay on his back, looking rather like a body laid out for the final viewing. She liked it better when he slept on his side. That way she could cuddle up against him and he would often caress her as he dreamed. With a sigh, she finished dressing and slipped out the flap into the star-littered night.

She settled down on a dune slightly higher than the others so that she had a good view of the entire encampment. Logically, it was silly to post a guard now that the Crimson Squad competitors were once again gathered together and a certain number were likely to be restless and awake but military discipline had its own reality and she was bound to obey it so long as she was a part of this trial.

She passed her time lazily imagining what was happening in the tent shared by the two younger males of her unit. In spite of herself, she giggled at some of the scenarios which came to her mind. Finally the stars informed her she had completed her watch and she went to rouse Gippal. She scratched the agreed upon three times on the canvas and started toward her own tent when she stopped. It might be possible to read on Gippal's face if Baralai had been successful, so she turned back and waited for the Al Bhed to emerge.

After a few moments of shuffling, Gippal pulled up the tent flap and emerged half-dressed. He was pulling on his purple shirt, exposing his bare chest and stomach to Paine's tired eyes; behind him through the open flap, she could see the dark outline of Baralai lying naked, his buttocks haphazardly covered by some piece of discarded clothing.

Gippal yawned and pulled the tent flap closed. Then, apparently, he noticed Paine waiting for him and a concerned expression crossed his face. "Everything okay?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"Sure. I'm just slow tonight. And I wasn't sure I heard you moving. Everything alright with you? Nooj is dead to the world. I was worried all of us were too tired to stand watch."

Gippal grinned sleepily and nodded. "Hard to talk myself into moving with that," he nodded toward the tent, "sleeping next to me." Gippal pulled on his pauldrons and fastened them securely. "If he's sleeping. I'm not really sure if he is or not -- the little chyga likes to pretend."

Paine smiled back. "Yes, I sometimes pretend too. Just to see what Nooj might say when he thinks I don't hear. He's so silly about seeming to be... well, you know how some people are. They don't like to be thought special toward their lovers. Like it somehow makes them less than..." She let her words trail off again and carefully scrutinized Gippal's face from under her lowered lids. Was that a look of sudden remorse she saw in his eyes? Had he told Baralai what he had intended to keep secret?

From the look in Gippal's lone eye, he was not going to talk - at least not about what had transpired between his lover and himself. He could be amazingly stubborn and she would have to ask Baralai -- waking him up if necessary, She was in no mood to wait.

"Then I'll let you get back," Gippal was saying as he picked up something from his pack -- a knife, it seemed, and some sort of fruit. "Wouldn't want to keep you away, yeah?" He gave Paine one last grin and then walked off through the sand toward the nearby rocks.

Paine glared at his retreating back, then turned her attention to the tent and the partially opened flap. With a determined set to her lips, she flicked open the canvas and stormed inside.

"Wake up, Baralai. You can stop your performance and, for Ixion's sake, pull on some pants, you're disgusting." She nudged him with a booted foot. "Let me guess, Gippal didn't tell you a single thing about his lies. Right?"

When Baralai sat up, it was clear that he was already wearing pants -- he must have pulled them on while Paine and Gippal were talking. He tied his simple shirt around his shoulders, but ignored the robe. No sense getting fully dressed. "I apologize if I offended you?" he half-asked, seeming to bristle at Paine's invective. He was not used to being called disgusting.

"Sorry." Paine muttered. "Gippal is so infuriating with his pretending not to understand. Well, did he tell you anything?"

"He did tell me something." Baralai looked like he was about to stand but thought better of it. "He's testing us in some bizarre way. Something about how is he supposed to trust us if we don't trust him. How that has anything to do with his lies, don't ask me -- probably only makes sense to him." Baralai sighed and leaned tiredly against one of the tent supports. "And then he said something when he thought I was asleep, but it was in Al Bhed and I didn't understand it though I heard it clearly."

"Can you repeat it? Maybe I can make it out."

Baralai closed his eyes and put his hand to his forehead. "He said... what was it? Something... dysh... tyshed ouina cu payidevim?" He frowned. "Something like that. Do you know what it means?"

Paine closed her eyes and began moving her mouth as she twisted the alien words in her mind. Suddenly she stopped and stared hard at the cotton-haired boy. "No. I can't seem to make it out. Maybe you misheard some of it. Anyway, it looks like you didn't get what you wanted from him. Or... maybe I should rephrase that." The corner of her lips turned up sardonically. "Well, I'm off to bed. If Nooj wakes up he'll wonder where I am and may come to tear a few parts off you. Goodnight or what's left of it." She dashed out of the tent before she burst into laughter.

Baralai watched her go with mild confusion. She was looking very amused...

Oh well. Now, at least, he could get some sleep. He felt himself already drifting off as he lay down; Baralai's last waking thought was that he would really need to learn Al Bhed if he would be dealing with Gippal.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

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